Solidarity
by Webdog177
Summary: The Shorts-Wearing Youngster, the Creepy Hex Maniac, the Youthful Fisherman, the lazy Ace Trainer; these are the real heroes of the Pokemon World. A series of one-shots based on the adventures of Pokemon Trainers and they world they inhabit. [Ratings may vary based on content]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I do not own Pokemon

This is something I made a couple years back. It is part of a series of one-shots I made starring, instead of Red or other big-name trainers, the REAL heroes of the Pokemon games, the random trainers themselves. The Ratatta-obsessed Youngster, the creepy Hex Maniac, that one Fisherman that has, like, six Magicarp (remember him?), and the Ace Trainer that is trying to work his way up to the Elite Four. They are the real people of Pokemon, and I always wondered what stories they have to tell. That thought led me to these one-shots. I hope you enjoy them for what they are.

Here we go!

0 – 0 – 0

 **Solidarity**

0 – 0 – 0

 **Victory Road Dialogues**

 **Ace Trainer Sean/Ace Trainer Michele**

"Hey, you there!"

The voice, clear and calm, echoing slightly from rocky walls of the cavern, almost made me stumble as I was crossing a particularly treacherous break in the pathway. The darkness permeating the cave didn't necessarily make navigating the whole area really easy, and calling out to people, surprising them, was not something that was generally appreciated. I spun around, fighting to keep my balance, and looked around to find where the voice came from. It was dark and gloomy, as all caves usually are, but it was still pretty easy to find the speaker.

A figure stood a few good meters away, back towards the fork in the pathway I had passed a few minutes ago, one arm held out towards me. It only took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to a light – a lamp of some kind, I guessed – in the person's other hand to notice that she was actually a girl. At least, from what I could tell.

Her face was illuminated from the lamp in her hand, but only just so. The flickering light didn't make it easy to pick up any defining features, but I could see a somewhat roundish face, light-colored hair trailing down her back from behind her head. Anything else was too difficult to see from her dark clothes and the inconsistent lighting. It didn't help to alleviate my sudden wariness.

"You almost made me trip." I said simply, doing my best to stand up straight.

"Oh… sorry about that." The girl said, her tone seeming sincere. She started forward and approached me. "I just saw you from behind and just called out on reflex."

"Uh huh." I nodded guardedly. "So, can I help you?"

She continued walking until she was a good two meters from me, and then stopped, her hand still help out towards me. Now that she was closer, I could see that she held something in her hand. It was round, about the size of a softball, and metallic.

It was a Pokéball.

She must have seen me eying the device, because she shook it a little. "I want a battle." She said, her tone light and friendly.

I cocked my eyebrow at the girl and stared at her. She wanted a battle? Here?

"A battle." I repeated.

She nodded vigorously. "Yup!"

"But this is Victory Road." I said, as if that should have been the answer to the girl's sudden challenge. Really, it should have been. I know I hadn't been around the area for all that long, but I knew the rules. Victory Road, as everyone knew, was the final stop on the way to the Pokémon League. It was a huge system of caverns and valleys that were dark, desolate, grueling, and dangerous. Oh, and full of Pokémon. But not just any Pokémon. The Pokémon that lived in Victory Road were amongst the most vicious and territorial of all of Kalos.

Graveler that survive for years by eating the rocks from the cavern.

Druddigon, a hugely territorial dragon that feed on just about anything it can digest.

Gurdurr that frequent the caves looking for heaviest stones and boulders to train with, most of which they can lift and hurl with ease.

And not to mention the Zweilous that are occasionally spotted by the odd Trainer or Ranger. If you thought a one-headed dragon was bad enough, two heads just makes things worse. And the fact that the heads never get along doesn't help matters.

Don't even get me started on the damned Haunters.

Because of the difficulty in getting through Victory Road safely, what with all the dragons and living boulders and treacherous cave system all threatening to kill the unwary Pokemon Trainer, the Trainer community decided to start an unwritten rule:

Don't Battle with the Other Trainers in Victory Road Without Good Reason.

Which is really why I stared back at this girl, who just so suddenly challenged me to a battle. It just wasn't done very often in Victory Road. Sometimes, people battled each other. It was usually done between friends, rivals, and acquaintances. And sometimes, more often than not these days, the Pokémon League hired veterans to hang around Victory Road to test trainers. But this girl definitely did not look like a veteran.

She shrugged, at least having the decency to look a little guilty. "I know." She said. "I've been around for a bit and know the rules and everything."

"So, why?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest protectively. I had just noticed that the lamp in the girl's hand wasn't actually a lamp; it was a Pokémon. The small, black Lampent hovered right beside her hand, glowing faintly from the orange light emanating from it. In the back of my mind I wondered why the Lampent's light was orange, instead of its natural blue, but quickly decided that thinking about it wasn't going to help if the girl decided to attack with it.

"I don't know, actually." The girl said, lowering her arm and the Pokéball still held in it. "I just saw you from behind and felt the urge to battle."

"The urge to battle?"

Her smile returned, and her Lampent silently hovered around to the other side of her hip. It was eerie to watch; I never really liked ghost Pokémon all that much.

"Yea! Don't you ever just get the urge to battle? When you are walking down the road, you see another trainer pass you by…" She widened her eyes and reached out with her hand – the empty one I had thought held a lamp – and pointed towards the cave wall. "And the both of you lock eyes! At that moment, you know it was fate; you two _must_ battle! It was as if Arceus Himself arranged it!" She looked back to me and grinned widely. "And that's just what this was! Fate! You and I _have_ to have a battle!"

I sighed deeply. Truth be told, I kind of got what this girl was saying. When I started out with my first Pokemon, it had been all fun and games. I had battled almost every other Trainer I had met. Children my age, older kids, the occasional preschooler (though, their parents would only let them have the somewhat less-dangerous breeds of Pokémon), and really more Pokémon-obsessed parents that I would care to admit, I had battles with them all. I won some, I lost some. It was all part of being a Pokémon Trainer.

Though, as I got older and the initial novelty of battling other Trainers wore off, fights just seemed to become less and less frequent. Generally, as a Trainer got older, it was more and more about competitive battling in the professional world, surviving out in the wilderness with your own Pokémon, and other fields such as breeding, collecting and the academic study of Pokémon. In other words, only the younger Trainers had frequent battles. The older Trainers tended to concentrate on other aspects of being a Trainer.

So what did that mean for this girl standing in front of me, grinning happily at the idea of a 'Fateful battle'?

"I understand what you mean." I acquiesced heavily. "But I reiterate: this is Victory Road." On this, I wasn't going to budge. If she _really_ wanted a battle, she could wait until the both of us were through the cavern and had a good rest and resupply at the nearest League Pokémon Center.

"Oh, I know, I know." She replied, cocking her head to the side. Her light-colored hair hung down loosely from her head. From the slightly ruffled and worn look of her hair, and now that I could see it more clearly, the state of her clothing, it looked like she had been in Victory Road for at least as long as I had been. "That's why I'm cool with a small battle. Three Pokémon each?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but closed it again.

My supplies, while diminished quite a bit from the week I had been in Victory Road, were still alright. I had a number of Potions, Supers and even a few Hypers left. I also still had a pocket in my bag filled to the brim with Full Restores and Revives (I'll admit, I'm a bit of a packrat). The only thing I was running kind of low on was food. After a whole week of being in the caves, I had all but run out of everything except for some dried food. As far as Pokémon food was concerned… well… let's just say there had been a distinct lack of Zubat and Golbat the past couple days. Aside from that, though, there was no real reason to say no to a three-on-three with this girl. She seemed honest enough, anyway.

She seemed to understand what I was thinking, maybe she had even been thinking the same thing, and stepped forward. "Usual Ace Trainer rules?" She asked, arching an eyebrow lightly.

I snorted in spite of myself. This girl _had_ obviously been around the block a few times. If anything, it made me slightly more comfortable being around her. "Half food for the victor?" I said, earning a nod from the other. "Alright, you're on."

"Awesome." She said, and gestured behind her with her head. "There's an opening in the cave a few minutes back that way we can fight safely in."

"Lead the way." I said.

A few minutes later, we had walked back to the same intersection I had passed before. True enough, the cave was wider than usual and more spread out. Stalagmites and Stalactites littered the area sparingly, and aside from the few Zubat I noticed hanging from the top of the cave, the cavern was empty.

Save for myself, and my challenger.

"Alright, then." The girl said, turning back towards me a few good meters away. "First things first. I'm Michele." She gestured towards the Lampent floating at her hip. "This is Chip."

"Lam!" The Lampent whistled a slightly high pitched, ghoulish sounding-call and floated up towards the ceiling.

"Chips gonna light the area for us and make sure any peckish Zubat stay away."

"He's not going to battle?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the lamp Pokémon as it glowed brightly above us. At the sudden change in lighting a few Zubat stirred and opened their wings to attack. Chip whistled and spat an ember at the closest Zubat. The small bat Pokémon screeched and flew off down the cave with the others in tow.

"Nah. He's just gonna give us light." She grinned. "When spelunking, always have a fire Pokemon."

I shrugged, feigning ignorance. Having some kind of fire Pokemon was almost standard to any Trainer's line-up, but I wasn't about to give anything away to my challenger.

"That's good advice." I settled on saying, earning an approving nod from Michele. "I'm Sean."

"Alright. Well, Sean, shall we?" She grinned and held out her Pokéball towards me again.

I sighed, reaching down to my belt and grabbed the closest ball – a Great Ball – clasping in tightly in my fingers. "Yup. Ladies first."

"Why thank you." Michele said happily, tossing her Pokéball in an arc. The ball landed on the stony floor and with a flash of light and a ferocious growl, the battle had begun.

0 – 0 – 0

"I have to admit," Michele said as she sat down on a flat stone opposite me. "I really did not expect that Mienshao of yours to bounce back so quickly. I mean, when you returned it after my Arcanine hit it with a flamethrower…" She shook her head. "I thought it was down for the count."

I smirked and patted the Great Ball that held Cici, my Mienshao, affectionately. "Yea, many other trainers overlook its regenerator ability. They think I am returning her for good, but actually am taking advantage of her vitality for a second round."

"Meanwhile, you have that tank of a Hippowdon absorb hits until the Mienshao recovers to take over again."

"Hey," I said indignantly. "Donnovan can dish out some pretty powerful hits if he wants to. He's just…" I paused, grimacing embarrassingly. "A little lazy... and slow."

Michele snorted and leaned back against the wall of the cave. "I could tell from the way he just sat there, taking Achilles' attacks like a lump. Is he going to be alright?" She asked, her tone suddenly worried.

I waved the question off. "Don't worry. I have some Hypers that'll perk him right up. I'm more worried about your Gabite."

Michele rolled her eyes, grinning. "Oh, Charlotte is such a ham. She'll act it up to anyone she can." She shrugged. "You should have seen her when I was in Shinnoh for the Annual Pokémon Contests. She was in Heaven."

I looked over at her from my spot on the rocks, my hands stopping at they rummaged through my bag. "You're from Shinnoh?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Michele looked up from her own bag and blinked. Maybe it was my tone that surprised her, of maybe it was the fact that I was actually asking a question. It was the first question I asked since she had first called out to me more than twenty minutes ago. Up until this point, I had been quiet, wary, on-guard, and let's face it, pretty surly.

I mean, could you blame me? This girl, Michele, appeared out of nowhere in Victory Road – a place that is usually free of Trainer battles, and challenged me. She had been friendly about it, but still! Some people have a lack of resources here!

But in the end, the battle had been pretty refreshing. She had led with her Arcanine, Achilles, and I had started with Cici, my Mienshao. After a few good hits the Martial Arts Pokémon is famous for, the Arcanine had gotten in a lucky flamethrower. I had returned Cici before she collapsed, giving my opponent the impression that I was down to two Pokemon.

All part of the plan.

Donnovan, my Hippowdon, followed the return of my Mienshao and lazily sat there, a half-lidded expression on his face as Michele's Arcanine battered away at his thick, sandy hide with fire and fang. After a long few minutes, made even longer by Donnovan's vitality from slacking-off, I returned him and came back with a bone crunching counter-attack from Cici.

After the fall of Achilles, Michele brought out her Gabite. I was fairly familiar with the Cave Pokemon, unlike Arcanine, which wasn't even native to Kalos, so I knew essentially the problem facing down my Mienshao with claws, rows of sharpedo-like teeth and rough, scaly purple skin. Needless to say, Cici didn't last long against a quickly executed dragon claw.

Fortunately, with Victory Road being populated by dragons more often than not, I was prepared to counter them. With the crack of a Pokéball and another flash of light, my Weavile hopped to the fight, sneering wickedly as she ran her claws together in front of her like she was planning something particularly evil.

Which she probably was.

A few solid ice punches was all it took to run Michele's Gabite, Charlotte, into the ground. Not even losing her smile, she returned the Cave Pokémon back into her ball and tossed out her third, and final, Pokémon.

A Roserade.

I had been surprised, I'll admit. But my surprise quickly turned to relieve when I remembered my Weavile was super-effective against not only dragon Pokémon, but also Grass types. Apparently, from the wicked cackle coming from Giselle, my Weavile, she realized this as well.

Imagine my surprise, then, when Zera the Roserade took the first ice punch like a champ and came back with dazzling gleam. Giselle went out like a light and I was forced to bring out Donnovan for round two. He didn't last very long against a quick-charged solar beam (apparently, that's why Michele had wanted her Lampent up above up 'providing light') and after a few lengthy seconds, the Hippowdon blinked dumbly and finally, slowly, fainted.

I had lost.

Wonderful. How long had it been since I had actually _lost_ a trainer battle? Too long, really. I should have been upset, or even a bit angry. But, really, I grew out of being a sore loser long ago. This girl had properly tricked me with a good plan with her Lampent, and I had walked right into it. Good for her. After the fight, we agreed to take a rest together and divvy up our supplies as per the Ace Trainer rules we had agreed on.

Oh well, the joke is on her. I barely had any food left.

"Well, no, I'm not from Shinnoh originally." Michelle finally said after a few moments. If my changed tone did anything, it made her smile even wider. "I just went through the circuit there for a year or so."

"The gym circuit?" I asked.

The other nodded. "Yup. I've been going around, participating in the gym circuits in the different regions for a while. I'm originally from Kanto."

"Ah." I nodded my head in understanding. "Hence the accent."

She giggled and looked pointedly at me. " _You_ have the accent, Mister. You a native Kalosian?"

"No, actually." I said, putting effort in an attempt to sound non-native to Kalos. "I'm from Shinnoh. I moved here when I was a kid. So, I guess I may sound like a native to some people. The _real_ locals can tell the difference. They are kinda sticklers for accents, anyway."

"I've noticed." Michelle said sardonically, and opened her pack wider, pulling out a collapsible metal pot. "So, fork 'em over."

"Fork what over?" I said, already guessing what she meant.

"My winnings." She said with a roll of her eyes. Her Lampent, Chip, hovered around us and settled on a nearby rock. With the light cast over us not, I could finally get a good look at the girl who narrowly defeated me. She had taken off her hat, letting her long, wavy, honey-blonde hair loose to the middle of her back. Her round face was light, if a little dirty and smudged from spelunking around Victory Road for days, with a pair of light-colored eyes (either blue or grey, I couldn't tell) slanted upward slightly to show her Kantonian heritage. And considering the light shade of her skin, though tinted orange in Chip's glow, and the color of her hair gave the impression that she was probably born close to the border of Kanto and Kalos.

"You know," She continued, "Half your food. Cough it up."

I smirked inwardly, and reached deeper into my bag, pulling out a pouch of dried meat and berries. I held it out towards Michele. "Here you are. To the victor go the spoils."

She took one look at the leather pouch, then back up at me. Then another look at the pouch, and then one more look at me. Her face fell and she sighed.

"Really?" She asked tiredly. "How long have you been in here?"

"About six…" I paused, counting on my empty hand. "Seven days?"

"Damn it." Michele cursed and sat back against the rock wall roughly. "I've been in here for five, myself. I'm just about out of food, too."

I managed a chuckle. "Sucks to be us, eh?"

The other blinked and looked over at me, her defeated face slowly returning to a smile. "So you _can_ laugh!" She said cheerfully. "And here I was, thinking you were one of those grumpy guys that wander around, giving the other trainers a surly, unfriendly stereotype!"

"Uh…" I managed, feeling my ears burn. Was that how I had come off? I hadn't noticed, honestly. I didn't often spend a lot of time around other people when I was outside of the main cities, so sometimes I just never noticed how I acted when other Trainers of travelers approached me on the road. Thinking about it, maybe that was why I was usually alone…

"Sorry." I finally said, leaning back against my own rock. "I didn't mean to seem…"

"Like a jerk?" Michele finished for me, grinning. I narrowed my eyes, and she laughed brightly. "Hey, no worries! Like I said, it was fate that we met and battled!"

"Fate…" I repeated thoughtfully. "What makes you say that?"

She shrugged, eyes wide. She had withdrawn a metal cup from her back and held the handle between her teeth. "I'unno. Jesh soundsh cool." She mumbled from around the cup and pulled out a sealed can, setting it down next to the collapsible pot she had pulled out before. She withdrew the cup from her mouth and set it down. "And seeing as its fate an' all, what do you say we just pool our food together?"

"You mean, eat together?"

"Sure, why not?" She said, winking up at me. "Neither one of us has much food. You have barely…" She tapped my pack of dried meat and berries with her boot heel. "One serving of dried food. And me," She snorted, pointing a finger to the can she had set with her pot. "One can of stew. Hardly a feast, but…"

I sighed and nodded. There was no real _reason_ to decline. After all, this girl, Michele, was in the same predicament as I was. For the past week I had been finding my way through the endless tunnels, barren valleys and vicious wild Pokémon of Victory Road. It was tough. It was challenging. It tested your mettle as a Trainer, as a survivor and, sometimes, as a person. And once you got through – if you got through – you were ready to take on the Elite Four.

Suddenly, as the thought of the Elite Four went through my mind, a thought occurred to me. This Kantonian girl had been travelling all around, battling in different region's gym circuits for at least a few years. And from her general look and experience in our battle, she seemed to be what we in the Trainer Community dubbed an "Ace Trainer".

Ace Trainers, as they are commonly gossiped about, were some of the best Pokémon Trainers in the world. They traveled the around the different regions, participating in Pokémon League competitions, gym battles, and other official exhibitions. While not a Master or anything like that, they were still fairly proficient in battling techniques and used their experience and skill to survive. They were highly sought out to be gym trainers, and sometimes even hired by the Pokémon League for certain jobs or assignments.

I held no doubts that this girl, Michele, was an Ace Trainer. But as to what she wanted or what her plans or goals were… I had no idea.

"Stew, huh?" I said, taking back my food pouch and opening it. "Been a while since I had stew."

"Yea, well… don't get your hopes up." The other said. "There's a reason I haven't eaten it yet."

I laughed, pulling out a few large pieces of dried meat. "I'm not picky. I guarantee you I have eaten worse." I handed the pieces of meat to Michele, who took them with a nod and dropped them into her collapsible pot.

"Oh yea? What's on the top of the list?"

I clicked my tongue and smirked. "Worst tasting or just plain worst?"

"Both." Michelle winked, pulling out a utility knife from her belt and stabbing into her sealed can of stew. She poured the thick, soupy contents into the pot. "My worst tasting was an Ekans I ate a couple years ago. People say snakes are supposed to taste good but…" She gagged. "Not Ekans."

"Oh, don't I know it." I agreed. "My worst tasting was a Feebas."

"Eww!" Michele made a face. "Why the hell would you eat that?"

"Why _wouldn'_ t you?" I retorted. Sure it hadn't been my proudest moment… but honestly, food was food. She didn't have to make such a big deal out of it!

"The look on its face, for one thing! I mean, the thing looks like its dead _when its alive_!"

I scoffed and went back to rummaging for my cup in my bag. I found it after a few short seconds and pulled it out. As I set it down on the rock, I noticed that Michele and I had very similar looking metal cups. It wasn't all that surprising, really. This particular type was portable, durable, and extremely modular as far as what you could use it for in the wilderness.

"So what about your worst, then?"

Michele blinked and looked down into the pot full of stew and dried meat. She gestured to her Lampent, who hovered low over the rocks and spat fire underneath the pot, heating up the metal with a soft, ghostly whistle.

"Um…" She finally said, still not looking at me. "Actually, a Skitty."

I snorted, barely able to keep my hand from flying to my mouth. "A Skitty? No way."

Even in the soft light from the Lampent, I could tell Michele was blushing. Her face darkened slightly and she pressed her lips together into fine lines.

"Yes way." She said, her voice unreadable.

"How did it taste?" I managed from behind my quiet laughter.

That got a reaction. She looked back up, her expression incredulous. "Like a _Jigglypuff_! How the hell am I supposed to describe how a Skitty tastes?"

I couldn't help it, I laughed harder. I fell back on the stone wall behind me and held my side as I laughed, barely making out Michele as she huffed across from me. After a few long seconds of laughing, I calmed down enough to hold my hands out towards the other Trainer.

"Sorry, sorry." I said, trying my best to sound sincere. "I didn't mean to sound like that. It's just…" I snorted again. "I've never heard of anyone eating a Skitty before."

Sighing, Michele tossed her hair around her back and looked away, pouting slightly. "Yea, well… I won't do it again." She tossed me a look. "And your worst?"

I shrugged. "A Houndour, actually. Not nearly as interesting as yours… but it still served to count among my worst."

Michele nodded and gave another sigh. "Right, well, the only things here are Zubat. So that means unless you like to eat Graveler or Dragon meat…" She gagged again. "Food is short around here."

"True." I said, sobering up. "I packed for about a week, since the last time I came through Victory Road only took a week. But the layout of the caverns have changed since last year."

Michele's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Last year? You've gone through Victory Road before?"

"Once before." I said. "I came out after six days."

The other stared at me for a few seconds, her face thoughtful. Eventually she cocked her head to the side, as if trying to look at me from another angle. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen." I said. "You?"

"Eighteen." She replied. "You've been a Trainer since you were eleven?"

I nodded. "More or less. The standard age for a Training License is eleven in Kalos. Some start older, and some younger if they have parental permission."

Michele thought silently for another few moments. "You're pretty strong." She finally said. "Have you completed the Kalos circuit yet?"

"A few years ago, yea."

"Have you challenged the Elite Four then?"

I laughed in spite of myself, and scratched the back of my head. "Once before. About six months ago. I didn't get very far; only past Wikstrom, the Steel Master and Drasna, the Dragon Master. I got to Siebold when he finished off my Talonflame and…" I held up my hands. "That was it."

"A Talonflame?" Michele asked, changing the subject smoothly. If there was ever a sore spot with experienced trainers, it was losses against such masters as the Elite Four. While there was no shame in losing against them, it still kind of hurt to talk about. "You have a Talonflame? I have never seen one before."

"Really?" I said, only then remembering that Michele wasn't a Kalosian native. I reached down to my belt and clasped the last ball – a Pokéball. I held it out towards Michele and let her examine it. "I caught her as a Fletchling. She doesn't really like caves, but I can let her out if you'd like to see her."

Michele's eyes widened and the leaned back, holding up her hands. "Oh, no! If she doesn't like caves, then I wouldn't want to make her come out just so I could see her!" She laughed. "Although, it would be nice to get the entry for my Pokédex."

I smiled and withdrew my red Pokédex from my pocket, holding it out to her. "Would you like the entry? I can send it to you if you like."

Michele grinned, withdrawing her own light-blue Pokédex from her pocket. "Isn't that cheating?" She asked, sticking her tongue out at me.

I shrugged. "We're in a cave. Who cares?"

A few seconds later, Michele and I had exchanged our Pokédex entries, both of us surprised to find out that the majority of our entries matched each other. Except for a few non-native species, she had largely the digital collected I had.

"Cool." Michele said, pocketing her electronic Pokémon Encyclopedia. She glanced down at the stew bubbling in the pot, and at her Lampent doing an excellent job of keeping up a constant flame. "Well, the stews about ready. We can eat after it cools." She gave the Lampet a pat on what I took to be its head. "Thank you, Chip."

"Lam!" The thing whistled and floated back to the large rock it had perched on before.

Michele reached over and picked up her metal cup, lifting it up towards me with a grin.

"Well, soups on!" She said, grinning. "How do you say it in Kalos? _Bon Appetite_!"

0 – 0 – 0

A/N: You KNOW that somewhere, trainers are comparing the worst Pokemon they ever ate. Hah.

These will be (seemingly) one-shots completed as I do them, consisting of adventures of Pokemon Trainers from all over. Some will be shorter than others, and some may even have run-ins with famous or notable individuals. Only time will tell!

See you all on the next story!

Xox


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I do not own Pokemon**

0 – 0 – 0

 **Solidarity**

0 – 0 – 0

 **Chapter 2: Route 4 Troubles**

 **Ace Trainer Sean/Youngster Joey**

 _"Hey, Sean, have you heard about Team Flare?"_

 _"Team Flare? What's that?"_

 _"It's a group that is growing in size here in Kalos."_

 _"A group of what?"_

 _"People and their Pokémon."_

 _"Huh. What do they want?"_

 _"Apparently, their goal is to 'Create a Beautiful and Better World'. They're trying to help the world's problem with overpopulation, growing lack of natural resources, and a world in which Pokémon are free to live."_

 _"That… actually sounds pretty good, Michele."_

 _"Yea. My thoughts exactly. It sounds good on paper. But the issue lies in how Team Flare is going about it."_

 _"Which is?"_

 _"They require two things to work: finances and manpower. The first they usually steal. They steal money in any way they can; from petty theft to embezzlement and larceny. The other they usually get by using force .They force people to join their ranks by intimidation, bribery, and many other ways. They usually don't take 'no' for an answer."_

 _"That's… not so good."_

 _"Yea. Again, exactly."_

 _"Truthfully, I have heard of Team Flare before. Only a little though. Just rumors and gossip around the bigger cities."_

 _"What have you heard?"_

 _"Nothing all that good."_

 _"See? That's actually why I'm here in Kalos. I want to find out more about Team Flare and do what I can to curtail their activities."_

 _"Doing your 'Good Samaritan Deed'?"_

 _"I've been around a lot of places, Sean. Seen a lot of different regions and people. There are a lot of groups like Team Flare. Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Rocket— they are all the same. They may have different outfits, or different monikers, but trust me; none of them are up to any good."_

 _"I see."_

Even with the dim, slightly fuzzy silhouette of the Holo Caster, I could tell Michele was unhappy. It wasn't easy to make out, what with the sunlight blazing down on me in the middle of Route 4, but seriously, the girl's frown was so big, it looked like it was sucking up the entire lower half of her face. I could only see her upper body in the hologram, and even though I couldn't see much of her, she looked restless.

Her arms worked over her chest, fingers gripping and loosening around her upper arms. Her jaw clenched tightly, her eyes shifting from side to side. Her blonde hair, shimmering a light gray in the hologram, hung loosely from her dark hat atop her head. She looked kind of worn out, but overall she looked a lot better from the previous week when she and I had finally found our way out from the depths of Victory Road.

I cleared my throat, getting the other Trainer's attention back on me. "Well, what can I do to help, then?"

Her face took on a suddenly surprised look. "Help? You want to help me?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "You clearly want my help with something. Why else would you call me?"

She huffed, narrowing her gray eyes at me in irritation. "Excuse me! Maybe I just wanted to talk to you! Maybe I just wanted a friendly chat! Did you ever think about that?"

I had to fight to keep from laughing at her sudden outburst. In the short week I spent since first meeting the Ace Trainer Michele in Victory Road, I learned one important thing about her: While friendly and outgoing, she also could yell. Really loud. And I wasn't in a hurry to replace my Holo Caster's speakers quite yet.

"Right, right. Sorry. Of course you just wanted to chat. My bad."

"Your damn right!" Her hologram glared at me. "And would it kill you to give me a call once in a while?"

"I didn't realize we were such good friends." I said honestly.

Sure, after getting out of Victory Road and recuperating at the League's Pokémon Center we had exchanged Holo Caster frequencies, but then we parted ways shortly after that. I went back towards Lumiose City to restock and resupply, whereas Michele had said something about heading up north towards Dendemille Town and the Frost Cavern just on the outskirts. When we departed, she made me promise to keep in touch, and I agreed mainly to be polite. She had been amiable company, and a good partner for Victory Road, but I hadn't intended to really stay in close contact with her.

Apparently, when she called me on my Holo Caster a week later, clearly irritated at my lack of contact over the past week, she had intended to make good on her own promise.

"Of course we are friends!" She said, her Kantonian eyes widening. "When you survive Victory Road with someone, you tend to keep in contact!"

"Ah." I said. "In that case, I am sorry. I'll contact you more often, then."

Michele eyed me for another few moments, and then her face relaxed. "Good then. I'll be expecting your call in a couple days."

"Right. You still around the Frost Cavern?"

"Yea. I'll stick around here for a few more days, and then I'll head down south for a bit. It's a bit too cold up here for my taste."

I nodded. "Take care of yourself then."

"Aww, I didn't know you cared." She sounded sarcastic, but her face was sincere. An interesting effect, I had to admit.

"Of course I do. We're friends, aren't we?" Suddenly, becoming serious, I stared directly at her hologram. "And I'll keep an eye out for Team Flare, too."

Michele looked back at me, her face matching mine, and nodded. "Thanks. Let me know if you find out anything. Take it easy, Sean."

"Right." I said and, giving the Ace Trainer one last smile, I shut off the Holo Caster.

Sighing, I stood up and looked around. Route 4, known to the locals as "Parterre Way" was one of the routes in Kalos that proved how important exterior looks were to the people here. Flower gardens, hedge mazes, steppes and fountains littered the entire route. Trees from outlining forests surrounded the route on the far sides, giving the impression of a strait road from Santalune City to Lumiose City, Kalos' capital. But that's all it really was; an impression. The forest surrounding the route was easy to enter and easier to get lost in if you weren't careful. Many travelers, Trainers and regular Kalosian alike, usually kept to the main road and enjoyed the flowers, hedge mazes and well-kept landscape.

I had started on the route the day before, taking a stop at the Pokémon Center in Santalune to switch out a few of my veteran Pokémon for a few of my newer additions, and set out shortly thereafter. I didn't really have a goal in mind for heading through Route 4 other than the simple fact that the route was a nice area to be in. After the week spent in Victory Road, I had decided to take it easy for a while.

I had earned a break, anyway.

I adjusted my bag across my shoulders and leaned down to slide my roller skates onto my shoes when a shadow fell across me. I stopped and looked up, blinking to get a clear look at the person standing in front of me.

"Hey!" A youthful, slightly high-pitched voice called out unnecessarily loudly. "I like shorts because they are comfortable and easy to wear!"

I blinked again.

"Uh… what?"

"I wanna battle!" The voice said again, this time matching the figure in front of me. I stood up and was surprised to find that the person standing in front of me was actually much shorter than I was. Only coming up to maybe my chest, the person was a young boy; messy, unkempt brown hair, a blue hoodie and, apparently because they were comfortable and easy to wear, a pair of khaki shorts.

"Huh?" I voiced, unsure of what else I could say. What was what about shorts? And a battle?

The boy grinned and held out a red-and-white Pokéball in his hand towards me. "My Rattata here is the best! He's Pokémon League material; totally in the top percentage of Rattata!"

"The hell?" I managed, eyes shifting from the boy's Pokéball, to his shorts he apparently liked, and back to his short stature.

The kid grinned widely. "Yup! The world's most awesome Rattata! Don't believe me? Let's have a battle!"

Here the kid was talking about his Rattata, which was apparently awesome, and I was still stuck on shorts. Sure they were easy to wear, but when you are travelling through the forest and caves they weren't really that useful for protection. On the other hand, they didn't chaff like some trousers and heavy pants did. But pants had more pockets that shorts did, so they had storage going for them. Then again, in the end, I guess what really mattered was if the clothing fit at all, huh?

"Oi!" The kid called again, shaking the Pokéball in his hand. "Old Timer! You gonna battle me or not?"

Old Timer? What the hell? Did he just call me Old Timer?

I stood up fully and looked down at the Youngster before me. He grinned up at me, completely unfazed by my hard stare. It looked as though that needed to be fixed.

"Hey kid, how old are you?"

"Eleven."

"You a Trainer?"

"Yup!"

I nodded, satisfied. "Cool. Then I won't feel too bad running your Rattata into the ground."

The kid jumped, pumping his fist into the air. "Sweet!" He crowed enthusiastically. He ran a few good meters away and turned back around. "I'm Joey! Prepare to get whooped, Old Timer!"

"Right." I replied evenly. Seriously, that 'Old Timer' comment was quickly getting old. "Your start?"

"Age before beauty!" Joey called out.

I knew this kid was young and immature, but I really didn't help but take the comments a little personally. I mean, I _wasn't_ old. I wasn't… was I? I thought about throwing a catcall or two back the Youngster's way, but decided against it. That would make me as immature as he was. I was wiser and more mature, and would therefore set the better example.

But that still didn't help my mood.

With a heavy sigh, I tossed out my leading Pokémon.

"Go, Alexander." I called out as the Pokéball snapped open and my Nidorino leapt out with a hiss and a flash of light. The purple, Poison Pin Pokémon looked around and, seeing me behind him, nodded in understanding. Alexander looked back just in time to catch Joey throwing out his own Pokéball, and hissed at the Scatterbug that appeared with a plop on the grass.

I raised my eyebrow and scoffed loudly. "I thought you said you had a Rattata."

Joey returned with a snort. "I do. He's super strong. I'm just saving him for last. If you're lucky and survive through my other Pokémon, then maybe you'll have the honor of losing to him!"

I sighed and put my hands on my hips, shaking my head. "Alright then. Age before beauty you said? Alexander— poison jab."

The Scatterbug had no chance. With a shriek the Nidorino rushed forward, putting all its weight behind its charge and lining up its spine. Its horn collided with the Scatterbug, throwing the Pokémon back a good few meters to land behind Joey in a crumpled heap.

"Jimmy!" Joey called shrilly, his hands in his hair disbelievingly.

Huh. A scatterbug named Jimmy. How original.

The Youngster Joey next released a Pancham named Patches. At least that was a cute name. Unfortunately, the Pancham was a girl. Somehow after finding that out, I couldn't quite keep a smile off my face. Something about a female Pancham named Patches was funny to me. I wasn't quite sure why.

Anyway, she fell almost as fast to my Scraggy (I felt like giving the Youngster an even match, but I just got in more lucky hits), and then he was left with only one final Pokémon: his Awesome, Top-Percentage Rattata.

"Go, Rattata!" He called, and with a snap-hiss from his red-and-white Pokéball and a flash of light, the small, purple Mouse Pokemon stood there; all one foot of him.

"No name?" I asked, unimpressed with the rat bouncing up and down on its paws, hissing at me excitedly.

Joey shook his head. "Nah. I got him from my cousin in Johto. He didn't give him a name because he's already too awesome. So I kept him that way."

"Right…" I said. "Well, let's get this over with."

"Let's get your loss over with, you mean."

Ignoring Joey, I released my third Pokémon.

Honestly, when the fight had started, I didn't want to completely overwhelm the poor kid. He was clearly still somewhat new at Training. If I had to guess, his Pokémon were between levels five and fifteen. I really could have taken out his entire team of three with only one of mine, and still have the energy left to ransack the entire area of wild Pokémon.

But I try not to be a jerk. I really try. I know I'm not the most friendly guy in Kalos, but I actively try not to be too aggressive or too rude to people… unless they are rude to me. If you are rude to me, then gloves are off. I may not be Champion of Kalos, but I have a team or Pokémon that are right up there in terms of strength and ability. I can definitely bring the smack-down. But, again, only if you pick a fight first.

Anyway, I really hadn't wanted to bring out the big guns against this kid. He was kind of cute in annoying, little brother kind of way. He was energetic and, truthfully, he reminded me a bit of myself at that age. So I just wanted to break it to him gently, you know? I didn't want to stomp him into the ground… I wanted to defeat him and still leave his confidence there, only to come back stronger and better that before.

But, now that I had taken taunts, jeers and cajoles about being 'old', suffered through the Kids supremely overconfident attitude about his still-new Pokémon, and now staring down an extremely irritating Rattata that was hissing at me like I was rat food…

I'll admit it: I kind of forgot about my goal to take it easy on the Youngster.

In a flash of light and a roar that rumbled the earth, my Aggron appeared between me and Joey, towering over the suddenly silent and still Rattata. A few passersby stopped to stare at the battle, wide-eyed. Even a few of the more passive wild Pokémon stopped their grazing and meandering around the flowers to stare at the giant Iron Armor Pokémon that had appeared suddenly.

I looked past Aggron to find Joey and smirked. For once, it seemed he was struck speechless. He stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at my giant, eight-hundred pound, nearly eight foot Aggron and then back to his Rattata. Back to my Aggron, and then back to his Rattata.

"This is Aaron." I said with a wave of my hand. "I named him that when he was a small little Aron."

Joey nodded shakily and blinked, pulling himself back from whatever thought he had been lost in. He swallowed visibly and managed to smile. "He's alright." He said, his voice a much higher-pitch than before. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood up straight, defiantly. "But he's not a Top-Percentage Rattata!"

I don't know why, but somehow, I had to give it to Joey. It took a lot of confidence (or naiveté) to stand in front of a fully-grown Aggron with nothing but a Rattata and still talk like that. If anything, my respect for the kid grew.

But only a little.

Needless to say, I won the battle. It had been like shooting rubber bands at a tank. Not funny in the slightest. Well, it was pretty funny to me, at least.

Afterward, Joey handed over a plan handful of coins (I really didn't need his change, but rules were rules) and grumbled something about a 'lucky-shot'. Whatever.

I bid the kid goodbye and started to walk away north towards Lumiose City. It only took me a few short moments to realize that Joey was following a few short steps behind me. I ignored him at first. But as the minutes passed and neither one of us changed course, I started to wonder how long he was going to follow me. Eventually, I got tired of the silence and sighed, turning around. Joey stopped a few feet away and looked up at me with an almost expectant face.

"What?" I asked blankly.

"Nothin'." He said, shrugging.

"Nothing." I repeated, staring hard at the kid. "Nothing? Or something?"

Another shrug. "Nothing…" He said again, looking down at the dirt. "Just… walking."

"Walking in what direction?" I asked. "If you're lost, I can give you directions."

Joey looked back up at me angrily. "I'm _not_ lost!" He puffed out his chest indignantly. "I just… don't wanna go where I was going."

The hell did that mean? I narrowed my eyes at the kid standing in front of me, his feet kicking at the dirt nervously, and sighed. "Look, kid—"

"I told you, my name is Joey!" The Youngster said, suddenly trying to stand up straighter. As if that would impress me. "And I'm not a kid! I'm eleven!"

"Right." I said. "Sorry. Joey. I'm sorry about the battle."

Joey's eyes widened. "Sorry?! Your sorry? Why are you sorry? You are the _coolest_ guy I ever met!"

"What." I deadpanned, seriously caught off guard by that one.

He ran up – I mean right up to me – and grabbed my arm. I tried to recoil but his grip was surprisingly tight. "You beat me so easily! And you only used three Pokémon! You even beat my Rattata! I mean, sure, you used an Aggron and Aggrons are naturally stronger than Rattatas so my Rattata is still in the Top Percentage of Rattata… but still! You are _so_ cool!"

He said all of this with one deep breath, looking up at me like the world would end if I were to refute anything he said. I tired yet again to pull away, and this time I slid easily from his grip and back up until I was a good few paces away. I looked around the path and did my best to ignore the curious stares from a pair of skaters making their rounds around Route 4. Joey stepped forward again, but this time didn't grab at me. Instead, he held out his Rattata's Pokéball towards me.

He didn't seriously want a re-match, did he? Even after I went through the kindness of loaning him a Revive? No. Loan wasn't the right word. He would never be able to pay me back for it.

"I want you to teach me." Joey suddenly announced. "Teach me to be as cool as you."

I blinked down at the Youngster. Teach him? Teach him to be like me? Was that even possible? I suppose I could teach a little about Pokémon training and some cool tricks but… really it was the experience and effort that made all the difference. You couldn't replace time and experience with a little training from an expert.

Then again, if given the right guidance and proper pointers… and maybe even good advice… then Youngster Joey may be on his way to being a proper Pokémon Trainer.

Nodding, I stepped forward and placed my hand on Joey's head. "Alright, Kid—er, Joey." I corrected myself, seeing his eyes flash in irritation. "I won't teach you, but I will give you pointers and advice when you want it. I have my own things to do, so I don't have a lot of free time."

A bald-faced lie. I had nothing but free time. I had oodles. But neither did I want to spend it all with an eleven year old kid and his Rattata. And there was the shorts thing, too.

Seeing his face fall, I rushed to continue. "But, whenever you have questions or want some advice, feel free to contact me and ask, alright?"

Joey seemed to consider my words for a few moments. His eyes shifted around to avoid mine, and his hands worked at his Rattata's Pokéball nervously. I was half-afraid he would decline and just follow me whether I wanted it or not. If that happened, I could just release Zippo, my Talonflame, and fly away… but that seemed little too cold.

Eventually, Joey sighed and hung his head. "Alright…" He said heavily, accepting my offer. "I understand."

"Good." I said, straightening up. I did feel a little bad seeing the Youngster so down, so right then I decided to do my good deed for the day. "Hey, I'm on my way up to Lumiose City. You wanna hike up there with me? I can show you some of the basics."

Suddenly smiling and puffing his chest out, Joey scoffed loudly. "I already know the basics!" He skipped a few paced ahead of me down Route 4 towards Lumiose. "How about some of the more advanced stuff?!"

0 – 0 – 0

A/N: Don't we all love that little Youngster? Heh

See you on the next chapter!

XoX


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